Let's take a quick look at who has already managed to defeat Carlos Alcaraz this season after his late entry into the game on the ATP tour. There's Cameron Norrie in the Rio de Janeiro final. There would be Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in Miami. There would be… no one else. Because Alcaraz won the title in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells.

Like last year in Barcelona. There, the still only 19-year-old will appear as defending champion and top favorite after the short break in the tournament, during which he decided not to start in Monte Carlo. The latter according to the seeding list. Because Carlos Alcaraz himself puts his light under a bushel again.

"We're trying to avoid the pressure of defending our title and just go out on the court and enjoy it," Alcaraz explained at Media Day in Barcelona today, Sunday. “There are big absentees like Rafa or Medvedev, both of whom could have won the tournament. But the absence of those two doesn't make me any more of a favorite, I feel. Any player in the tableau can beat me.”

Alcaraz trains with Ruud and Shapovalov

In fact, the traditional event in the Catalan capital has an excellent cast as usual, and Sinner and Norrie, the two Alcaraz conquerors in 2023, are also at the start. However, they were drawn into the lower half of the tableau. And it is rather doubtful that Alcaraz will stumble against Nuno Gomes or Ilya Ivashka, against whom he will open the tournament.

Especially since it seems to be going well again. “I trained with Shapovalov and Ruud and it worked very well for me. I need the competitive rhythm, I have to play points. And I can do that with these players.”

Here the individual tableau in Barcelona

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